On the day I was caught, the heir of a wealthy family took me to get the certificate.

"What do I understand? What should I understand? I just wanted to buy you some clothes as a thank-you gift from your apprentice to your master. Is there something wrong with that? What do you want me to understand?"

Anger also welled up in Yuan Yuan's eyes, but she controlled her emotions well and asked in a calm tone.

Yan Huaixu stared at her, speechless for a moment.

Her rationality left him speechless.

"But what should I say to you? You've been acting strange ever since I called you, so what exactly has happened from yesterday until now?"

Yuan Yuan questioned him very calmly.

"Nothing happened, nothing at all."

Yan Huaixu avoided her gaze and answered in a low voice.

"lie."

Yuan Yuan exposed his lie: "If nothing had happened, you wouldn't have changed so much. Let me guess, my godfather came back yesterday, so he came to see you? What did he say to you? Threats? Or bribes?"

Yuan Yuan was very clever; she managed to deduce Liu Chenhan's identity from these subtle clues.

Yan Huaixu smiled bitterly.

Since I couldn't hide it any longer, I decided to be honest and say, "Yes, your godfather contacted me. He gave me ten million to leave you."

"So, you accepted it?"

Yuan Yuan asked in surprise.

Yan Huaixu closed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "That's ten million. I have no reason to refuse."

"But what's your reason for accepting this? Leaving me? What is our relationship?"

Yuan Yuan was stunned for a moment, and after regaining her senses, she questioned him with a mixture of shame and anger.

Yan Huaixu remained silent.

Yuan Yuan was furious. She never expected that she would encounter such a thing.

He immediately retorted sarcastically, "You only confessed your feelings to me, I never said I accepted you. We have no relationship whatsoever. My godfather is just a fool with too much money; he doesn't know anything and just casually gives away ten million, treating himself like an ATM?"

You don't need to deliberately make things difficult for me and make me back down. I never intended to accept you from the beginning. Since you don't need my thank-you gift, then forget it. I'll make things clear with my godfather. Ten million is too much; you're not worth it.

Yan Huaixu felt as if he had been slapped hard, his face burning hot.

He watched Yuan Yuan leave, his heart shattering in an instant.

In fact, he did not accept Liu Chenhan's ten million.

I made things clear with Liu Chenhan yesterday.

“You don’t need to give me the money, but I will tell her that I accept your ten million. Let her misunderstand that I am a despicable person, and that may make it easier for her to accept.”

"Are you willing to bear the stigma without taking any money?"

Liu Chenhan asked him.

Yan Huaixu smiled bitterly, but said firmly, "Perhaps in your eyes, feelings are a ridiculous thing. Perhaps in five, ten, or twenty years, I will have the same thoughts as you. But for me now, it is precious, priceless, and cannot be measured by money. I may regret it later, but at this moment, I want to protect this precious thing."

"Whatever you say, whatever you say, make him give up on you."

Liu Chenhan agreed to his request.

However, both he and Liu Chenhan were wrong.

There's no need to go to great lengths to make Yuan Yuan give up.

How could someone as proud as her allow herself to be humiliated?

I returned to my rented room in a daze, collapsed onto the bed, and my eyes welled up with tears.

From that moment on, he truly had nothing left.

Parents, family, feelings, and even the last bit of pride and self-respect—all gone.

The extreme pain and despair caused him to fall ill with the most serious disease he had ever experienced on this cold winter night.

I couldn't go to my shift the next day, so I had to call my supervisor.

He fainted before he could finish the phone call.

It was only after his supervisor sensed something was wrong and sent someone to check on him that he was taken to the hospital.

Otherwise, it's likely that before the New Year even arrives, it will become a headline news story about someone dying in a rental apartment.

Yuan Yuan was unaware that he was ill.

This was the first time she had encountered something like this, and she felt both ridiculous and heartbroken.

Go find Liu Chenhan and question him: "Did you approach Yan Huaixu and offer him ten million?"

"He told you?"

Liu Chenhan asked.

She thought to herself, "That kid is quick; he told her so fast."

Yuan Yuan said, "He hasn't given me the ten million yet! If he hasn't, then don't give it to him. I don't even like him, so why would you give him money? If you really have money to burn, you can donate it to the poor. Why waste it like this?"

"You don't like him? Are you sure you don't?"

Liu Chenhan asked in disbelief.

Yuan Yuan said definitively, "If I really don't like him, why would I like someone like that? Am I such a lowly person? I can have any kind of guy I want, why would I like someone who isn't sincere with me?"

Liu Chenhan: "..."

To be honest, at this moment he felt a little sorry for Yan Huaixu.

It's truly pitiful to have one's sincere heart misunderstood and casually abandoned.

However, the feeling of heartache was only momentary.

After all, to him, he was just an outsider.

He was even more pleased that his little princess, whom he had raised, could be so rational when it came to relationships.

"It's good that you think that way. Who knows what those guys outside are up to? If you really want to date, date Gu Shenjin! He's so great. He's handsome and smart, our families are old friends, and your mothers are best friends. There's no one more suitable than him."

"You're right, he's quite suitable, let's choose him!"

Yuan Yuan nodded in agreement.

Liu Chenhan was stunned, and asked in disbelief, "You really agreed?"

"Yes, I agree."

Yuan Yuan gave an affirmative answer.

"Oh."

Liu Chenhan laughed excitedly. He had brought this up countless times, but she had always refused to agree.

I didn't expect you to agree so suddenly?

Happiness came so suddenly that he was excited for a while before he quickly told Yuan Bowen and Han Jing the news.

He called Chu Jinchu again to tell her the good news.

Of course, he didn't tell Gu Mingchen.

The two had a falling out over a competitor's product and haven't spoken to each other since.

Both families were delighted to hear the news.

Chu Jinchu personally went to ask Gu Shenjin if he was willing to date Yuan Yuan.

At this time, Gu Shenjin had no desire for romance.

He knew that at his age, he was old enough to be in a relationship.

But he had no idea who to talk to. It seemed like anyone would do, yet everyone was just a little bit lacking.

So when his mother suggested it to him, he didn't object.

It's better to date Yuan Yuan than a stranger.

After all, they knew each other well, having grown up together since childhood, and were quite familiar with each other.

So, naturally, I agreed to give it a try.

Yuan Yuan and I are officially dating.

Yan Huaixu was all alone and spent three days receiving intravenous fluids in the hospital.

On the fourth day, she insisted on being discharged from the hospital and took some medicine back to her rented room.

On the fifth day, I went to the company to work my shift again.

The moment the New Year's bell rang, he stared at his phone and typed "Happy New Year" to Yuan Yuan in the chat box.

But in the end, it was never sent.

The sound of firecrackers outside rose and fell, their crackling and popping echoing through the sky.

"Waaaaah..."

While others were enjoying family time, Yan Huaixu was alone in the duty room, sobbing uncontrollably.